Sauteed Beet Greens

Beets have quickly become something that we eat a lot of in our home.  I hate to waste anything.  We have ventured into the territory of eating the greens instead of throwing them away.  They are a bit different than say, a spinach green, but equally as delicious. 

The simplest way is to saute them with a bit of bacon grease or oil.  I heat up a tablespoon of oil in a cast iron pan.  Rinse the greens and pat them dry on the counter while the oil is heating up.

I toss the greens into the oil and saute until wilted.  They do take a bit longer than spinach to cook. The leaves are sturdier.

 Just remember: heat oil, rinse greens, toss in oil, cook until tender, and serve.  I have written the recipe out below if you need it.

My favorite way to eat them is served with two over medium eggs.  The yolk adds great flavor to the sauteed greens.

I also will on occasion season the greens with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Really, use what you like and what you would normally dress your spinach with.

Enjoy this simple recipe!

Sauteed Beet Greens

Roughly 4 cups of beet greens, washed and cut into strips
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar or fresh lemon juice

1.  Wash and pat dry the leaves.

2.  Heat oil in sturdy pan.  Add leaves and saute for 5 minutes.  Add minced garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

3.  Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper.  Squeeze lemon or add balsamic vinegar.

4.  Serve immediately.

ritten by Sherron Watson

Asian Style Spiral Salad with Chicken

I bought myself a new toy for the kitchen: a Spiralizer.  I can't stop using it.  I tell you it is freaking awesome!

My kids can't wait to use it too.  They  eat more vegetables.  Heck, I am eating more vegetables.

The best new vegetable we have learned to LOVE LOVE LOVE-- are yellow beets.

They are my favorite.  Way better for a beet virgin like myself than the red beet.  Sorry red beet! I do love marinated red beets just not raw red beets.  Yeah, say that fast 10X's.


Maybe I am crazy and there is not a difference in flavor, but in my mind, the yellow beet, taste better.  It is a bit sweeter and not so earthy.

Before I went gluten free and started reading labels,  we used to eat this salad that had cabbage and a bag of Top Ramen.  I sort of miss that salad.  I miss the crunchy noodles, the crispy cabbage and the seasoning  from the packet.

After I made this salad I asked Cory if it reminded him of anything we have had before and he brought up the Top Ramen salad.  I had the same thought.

For some reason the dressing, the crunchy almonds and the spiraly vegetables made us believe that we were eating a very similar salad to the one we loved from our early days of marriage.  And you know that was a long time ago-- wink..wink

I added chicken for some protein and to help fill us up for dinner.  We are trying, and failing miserably on some nights, to not snack late into the night.

I committed a while back to eating more salads and this is one salad that the whole family has asked for several times.  It is a great way to involve your kids in meal planning, get them to try new vegetables and get creative.  Use any vegetable you want.

If you do get a Spiralizer (this is not a paid post-heck-they don't even know I bought one) I would recommend saving the tails.  When you put the vegetable onto the spiralizer you push and crank with one hand and hold the bowl with the other. The vegetable is being pushed through a metal tube and cut at the same time.  You are left with an assortment of "tails".  I tossed them into a baggie and froze them for when I make a vegetable broth or chicken noodle soup next.

This is a fun salad.  It is simple, and yet, you can do so much with it to add that gourmet flair.  I threw some black sesame seeds into ours for fun.

Enjoy!

Asian Style Spiral Salad

Makes 4 adult servings

Prep Time:  25 minutes

1 carrot, peeled

1 red or green apple

lemon juice (for apple)

1 yellow beet, peeled

1 zucchini, peel left on

4 large red radishes, peel left on

toasted almonds, optional

black sesame seeds, optional

cooked chicken pieces, optional

Meat is optional for this dish.  Chicken, beef or shrimp work well.  This is a great salad to use any leftover meat in the refrigerator from the night before, this is what we do.

Dressing:

Makes 1/4 cup 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

2 tablespoons Mirin.  

Mirin is a japanese sweet cooking rice wine.  It can be found in the asian section of most grocery stores.

1.  Spiral all of the vegetables into a large bowl.

2.  Prepare a small bowl with 1 cup of cold water and juice from half a lemon.  Spiral the apple and add to the lemon water.  This will prevent the apple from turning brown.

3.  Combine the two dressing ingredients into a jar with a lid.  Shake.  Pour over salad and toss.

4.  Salad is best served immediately.  Everything is crunchy and crisp.   Add any optional ingredients and toss again.  Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator and will soften a bit as it sits in the dressing.

Written by Sherron Watson